Well, I want to say first that I fully understand that hospitals expect you to be at work no matter what the weather.
I always go. I go for other people. That's why I have a four wheel drive. However, sometimes there is bad timing. Such as major snow that falls heavily and rapidly.
I got up, took a shower, got in the car to go to work. I swept it off the night before, got gas the night before, washed my uniform and had it pressed in case the power went out.
I warmed up the car, went off my driveway...moved about 15 feet and it slid into the yard.
The vehicle would not move.
So for the first time in years...I don't call in sick but maybe once a year. Never for weather.
I have PTO right? Lots of it because I never call in.
Get this...hospital is not allowing me to use my PTO for that day.
Freaking ridiculous. So if anyone else makes an attempt and wrecks. Call the news right after the tow truck. The general public should know that hospitals don't care about the safety of their employees. So this crappie about the fact they do? They can stick it as far as I'm concerned.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Oh..once again assumptions.
The unit was fully staffed. We all work well together with the part-timers offering in advance to come in that live closer. When I did live closer I did this for others because not everyone can find a sitter when schools make last minute closing decisions. We had to move recently because of my husbands parents.
I live in a region with one of the most highly unpredictable weather patterns in the country. The snow that is forecast either doesn't come at all or falls half what was predicted.
We rarely get more. We often go entire winters with no snowfall.
So according to your logic I would have booked a hotel two days in advance and paid 80% in hotel fees of what I would have made that day.
Sorry lady, but you wouldn't have done it either.
I think that administration should have left it up to management. We have some nurses that will call in if one flake falls. If they were going to punish they should have targeted the ones with excessive call ins.
Not the ones that have excellent attendance records with a record of NEVER calling in due to weather. In fact, This past week was the first day ever....I have missed because of snow in my nursing CAREER.
Now I am afraid, you are the one assuming here.
If you read on, in another post, I talked about an epic flood, --- ( the kind which happens every 50 or so years in my region)-----which was of similar dire circumstance, whereby I did not stay in a hotel. (NO ONE had any idea it would be so bad, there was ZERO warning in the weather reports; it was a combination of high tide and epic rainfall and mudslide events)----
So instead, I tried to go to work. There was standing water and it was 4 am, pitch black out, and I had no idea how deep it was. So, I turned back and went home. Turned out, that same water washed a restaurant off its foundation, across 4 lanes of highway, into a ditch and I would likely have been in that ditch myself. It was a good choice for me.
But my boss was none too happy I did not make it in and asked me was there no other way I could make it in. I said unless she had a helicopter, there was not as the whole road by now, was under several feet of flood water. So, they had to accept I was not coming in.
I did not make it in, much the way YOU did not make it in.
And to that point and from that point on, my attendance record, like yours, has been an impeccable 100%.
I stayed home. I was unpaid. I was fine with it. I was safe. I was unharmed. I was grateful.
Seriously, you really need to get a grip on this situation. It's one day. And if you get paid for not showing up, it sets a precedent for others to do the same in the future under similar and *DIRE*--- (not routine sick call, etc)--- circumstances with what may be "stories" that are not truthful, unlike like yours. This is an exceptional circumstance. Sick people don't stop needing us just because we cannot make it in. SOMEONE has to cover us when for some unforeseen reason, we don't get there.
So while I see where you are coming from cause I was there, I am fine with your unexpected day off being unpaid.
You are safe. You were unharmed. You are ok. Again, be glad.
Yes I read the OP and comprehended the post. Disagreement does not mean lack of comprehension.
Anyhow----- I still don't agree with her. I feel for the person who had to cover for her because it was no doubt, an inconvenience. The OP is fine. She was not in a wreck, her vehicle sustained no damage and she was at no time, in danger as the dramatic title of the OP would indicate. She got a day off without pay, which I might add, many do when they fail to show up for work.
If it were me (and it was a few years back during an epic flood when I could not get out of my town as the interstate was submerged under feet of water) I would be grateful and not pitching a fit. I certainly freaked out on the way to work when I suddenly was faced at 4 am with standing/moving water over a road I could not determine the depth of. I turned around and went back home. Turned out it was a good decision. That same water washed a restaurant off its foundation across 4 lanes of road in that very spot less than 2 hours later. It was probably already 2 feet or so deep when I encountered it.
I went without pay for that day. Someone else had to cover for me. I felt bad for that but grateful for being safe.
Focus. Gratitude. Really, it could have been so much worse OP.
My issue is either the PTO is yours to use or its not. To me, having a job where management picks and chooses when to pay out PTO makes it a worthless benefit.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I would read my employee handbook or contact HR. Regarding PTO, you may or may not have a case. But there may well be a clause discussing emergency events/conditions that discuss not being able to use PTO for not coming to work under emergency situations.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I am just thinking of the hero nurses/EMTs/paramedics/doctors during events like Hurricane Katrina.....no electricity, or even decent drinking water for days.....
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
OP you are very well-educated, having an MSN. Why is it, you make no mention of consulting your employee handbook or discussing the issue with HR, and then telling us the hard and fast policy in such a case? Your posts make an emotional case but don't discuss the specifics of HR policy at all.
I would think that would be the very FIRST thing anyone would do in your situation, (consult HR policy) rather than rant on an anonymous board. But then I may have missed it somewhere.
The unit was fully staffed at the time. You calling in made them short staffed. That's what's not safe. So you live in a state with unpredictable weather? So do all your coworkers, yet they managed to make it.
You didn't make it to work so you don't get paid PTO. That's the policy. Accept it and move on because it isn't going to change. That's great that you've never missed because of weather. It doesn't matter that you have perfect weather attendance. Like a PP said, they can't bend the rules for you.
Oh, to live in your perfect world. I would guarantee you would not have lifted a finger to do half the preparations I did much less call a tow truck to see if you could still make it.
No, it's not the policy...another assumption of yours. The administration decided to disallow the use of PTO just for this past week. Nowhere is it written in our policies that we cannot use PTO when we miss due to weather.
Everyone that was on salary was paid. Yes, contrary to public belief, you can force someone to use PTO that is on salary if they miss work. So they got paid for almost two days that they did not work without touching their PTO. That's not in the policy either.
No, They were not short staffed. Every time there is a snow prediction, there is a voluntarily list of those WILLING to come in because we know some of us have cars that have trouble, single parents that need to stay home when school is out that have no family and no baby sitter wants to get out in the mess. We also have nurses that live over an hour away. Some live walking distance.
So no...nobody was forced to come in. They volunteered in advance.
Do you know how they made it and I didn't?
Because the new snow that fell around the HOSPITAL was minimal and the roads already scraped. The ones that made it lived closer. The ones that lived out my way didn't make it either.
If we got a hotel every time there was a snow prediction during the winter, I would spend more money in hotel fees than I would on my mortgage during the winter.
So since you seem to share the attitude of management let me tell you how it shakes out when employees get mad.
Need a volunteer for a new committee? The answer will be no.
Need someone to pick up? I'm no longer answering the phone on my days off.
Need someone to help with a research project? Ask someone else.
Employees help and volunteer when they are being treated fairly. Otherwise, they'll do their job description and not one thing more.
Most of the senior nurses in my unit fall into that category. Now I know why.
OP you are very well-educated, having an MSN. Why is it, you make no mention of consulting your employee handbook or discussing the issue with HR, and then telling us the hard and fast policy in such a case? Your posts make an emotional case but don't discuss the specifics of HR policy at all.
I would think that would be the very FIRST thing anyone would do in your situation, (consult HR policy) rather than rant on an anonymous board. But then I may have missed it somewhere.
I wish it were that simple. The policy as it reads supports me getting paid.
This was a purely punitive move by administration.
Yes, if I pushed it with HR I would most likely get a check. But we all know you'll win the battle and lose the war.
I'm not going to say a word in protest but I've decided that volunteering for anything extra is over.
You posted your story on a widely read internet message forum. Surely you realized that a certain percentage of readers would not agree that you have been treated unfairly. I could post "today is Wednesday," and a certain number of members would respond to the contrary.
Why are you so worked up and belligerent over the fact that a few people dare to disagree with your take? Do you always get upset if anyone disagrees with you?
If the hospital has acted contrary to their own policies, take it up the chain. Eventually you'll get your due.
ETA: I was posting at the same time as you and see you have no plans to protest the issue officially.
I am just thinking of the hero nurses/EMTs/paramedics/doctors during events like Hurricane Katrina.....no electricity, or even decent drinking water for days.....
And we are squabbling over PTO here.
I feel ashamed right now. Carry on.
Oh. The doctors were provided with sleeping quarters and hotel vouchers...paid for by the hospital.
The EMTs have sleeping quarters at their center here and no....they were not going out on every call either. If a road cannot be driven on they don't go.
Same for fire or police. So don't assume that all of these services are available instantly regardless of the weather. Apparently you missed class the day they reviewed health care management during national disasters.
Oh, to live in your perfect world. I would guarantee you would not have lifted a finger to do half the preparations I did much less call a tow truck to see if you could still make it.
No, it's not the policy...another assumption of yours. The administration decided to disallow the use of PTO just for this past week. Nowhere is it written in our policies that we cannot use PTO when we miss due to weather.
You're right. I wouldn't have had to do half the preparations you did because when we have a possible snow event, I sleep in the floor of the hospital on an Air mattress with my coworkers so that we are there to cover our shifts. Thanks though.
And again, you said yourself that administration decided to not allow you to use your PTO, not management. I'm sorry that you don't like that people disagree with you. That's the beauty of the internet, you can voice your opinion, and I'll voice mine. If you thought everyone here was going to agree with you, you are wrong.
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
Now I am afraid, you are the one assuming here.
If you read on, in another post, I talked about an epic flood, --- ( the kind which happens every 50 or so years in my region)-----which was of similar dire circumstance, whereby I did not stay in a hotel. (NO ONE had any idea it would be so bad, there was ZERO warning in the weather reports; it was a combination of high tide and epic rainfall and mudslide events)----
So instead, I tried to go to work. There was standing water and it was 4 am, pitch black out, and I had no idea how deep it was. So, I turned back and went home. Turned out, that same water washed a restaurant off its foundation, across 4 lanes of highway, into a ditch and I would likely have been in that ditch myself. It was a good choice for me.
But my boss was none too happy I did not make it in and asked me was there no other way I could make it in. I said unless she had a helicopter, there was not as the whole road by now, was under several feet of flood water. So, they had to accept I was not coming in.
I did not make it in, much the way YOU did not make it in.
And to that point and from that point on, my attendance record, like yours, has been an impeccable 100%.
I stayed home. I was unpaid. I was fine with it. I was safe. I was unharmed. I was grateful.
Seriously, you really need to get a grip on this situation. It's one day. And if you get paid for not showing up, it sets a precedent for others to do the same in the future under similar and *DIRE*--- (not routine sick call, etc)--- circumstances with what may be "stories" that are not truthful, unlike like yours. This is an exceptional circumstance. Sick people don't stop needing us just because we cannot make it in. SOMEONE has to cover us when for some unforeseen reason, we don't get there.
So while I see where you are coming from cause I was there, I am fine with your unexpected day off being unpaid.
You are safe. You were unharmed. You are ok. Again, be glad.